Printing News

3D printing has made its mark in areas such as aerospace, with the creation of rocket components, igniters, and more. This progressive technology is allowing innovative automotive parts to be made for companies like Ford, BMW, and even Rolls Royce.

But we also spend a lot of time, it would seem, discussing what 3D printing can do for feet! From running shoes to high heels, designers and manufacturers have embraced the ability to prototype and manufacture futuristic products—and orthotic insoles have been a popular item also. Because they can be time consuming to order, as well as expensive, 3D printing is an attractive option for manufacturing such items. Not only can they be made quickly, but usually at a fraction of the price when compared to conventional insoles.

Now, Delhi-headquartered Shapecrunch is 3D printing custom insoles for individuals suffering from issues that are all-too-common such as problems stemming from diabetes, flat feet, and plantar fasciitis. The company was founded in 2015 by Nitin Gandhi, Jatin Sharma, Arunan Arivalagan, and Jiten Saini, inspired by the challenges Gandhi was having finding custom insoles for flat feet.

“I went to the doctor and he told me to get a pair of custom orthotics. Then I went to a shop to get those made and was surprised to see the manual process. All the machines were imported and the orthotics that I finally got had to be replaced because they were uncomfortable. Then again I had to go there,” Gandhi recalls.

Jiten Saini, Arunan Arivalagan, Nitin Gandhi and Jatin Sharma

On speaking with Gandhi’s doctor and doing their research, the group discovered that conventional equipment for creating such devices is considered to be very expensive, and only a few other companies or medical professionals were offering the service. With Gandhi and Sharma already experienced in 3D printing (and they are all engineers in varying fields), a light bulb went off.

“Since were already working in 3D printing, we thought how if we 3D print the insoles and see if it’s comfortable. It actually worked,” Gandhi says.

The Shapecrunch system is streamlined and completely digitized, requiring the doctor to scan the patient’s foot and enter the data. The software transfers the data into a 3D model which can then be 3D printed and shipped to the patient. Users without serious foot problems (and required medical care) can even scan their own feet and complete the process on their own.

“Our algorithm captures more than 1,000 points from feet and converts them into a 3D model,” Gandhi reveals.

Poron is the 3D printing material used by Shapecrunch, with soft cushioning added after the print is complete. The insoles are available in three different styles: sports, dress, and formal.

Currently, the Shapecrunch team works with the following medical professionals in providing them with the scanning technology:

Orthopedists

Physiotherapists

Chiropractors

Podiatrists

For a company who just put their product on the market last year, response has obviously been very positive with 1,200 patients using their services so far. Twenty percent have ordered a second pair of orthotics already too!

“The insoles are really comfortable. I use them in my running shoes and hiking shoes. They provide cushioning to my feet, which has reduced the pain and problems of swollen feet,” says Madhu Bhardwaj, a happy Shapecrunch customer.

The team trains doctors in how to use the Shapecrunch product, and then they are able to set up their own labs for less than $200.

“Shapecrunch allows us to provide full customization and helps us solve problems, which can’t be solved with traditional methods,” said Dr. Abhishek Jain, Founder of Delhi Foot.

More than 30 clinics are using Shapecrunch now, and the team has filed three patents for their product.

“…the biggest challenge for us was gaining knowledge of the foot and developing the algorithm, for which we worked with multiple foot specialists,” said Gandhi. “We first did basic trials with AIIMS, working with the PMR department. Later, the project got funded to do a bigger study.

“Most existing competitors use expensive imported machines for foot impression and require many people to fabricate the insole manually. With computer vision and machine learning we have digitized the whole process, disrupting the whole space.”

Shapecrunch currently has 10 members on their team, and while they are based in India, they have received orders from patients in Europe and the US. The new company spent their first year and a half doing research with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. They have also received a grant from BIRAC to continue doing clinical research with AIIMS. Along with that, the Shapecrunch team has also received an undisclosed amount of seed funding, with should offer a positive boost.

They hope to begin turning a profit this year, and plan to continue working on related products that will benefit runners as well as those suffering from complications due to diabetes.

There are some major 3D printing trade shows that cover all or most aspects of the industry, and then there are more niche events that focus on a smaller area – like last week’s summit on 3D printing in medicine and dentistry, for example. Coming up next week, on February 8 and 9, following SOLIDWORKS World, is the Formlabs Roadshow in Los Angeles, and its focus is on another piece of the industry – design and entertainment.

To be exact, the theme of February 8’s agenda is Design and Manufacturing, while February 9 covers Entertainment and 3D Printing. The panel and networking event will, on the first day, discuss the digital workflows of small and large manufacturing companies in Los Angeles. Engineering and design firms will talk about how to optimize manufacturing processes for production by incorporating 3D printing into workflows. On Day 2, industry-leading character artists, game designers, and special effects artists will discuss how they are using CAD and 3D printing to rapidly prototype their designs. Design experts will talk about how they combine traditional techniques and new technology to bring their designs to life.

“The Roadshow brings together thought leaders from all different industries to discuss how 3D printing technology has enabled their design or production process,” Lauren Watkins, Product Marketing and Education for Formlabs and Co-Creator of the Roadshow, told 3DPrint.com. “We take a look at challenges and successes of large and small scale businesses and how we can work together to continue to push the industry forward.”

3D printing a Demogorgon. [Image: Formlabs]

Highlights of the Design and Manufacturing segment will include an expert discussion on the intersection of design and manufacturing, and how designers become manufacturers and manufacturers become designers. They will see the workflow of Matt Moseman of the custom auto shop

“We’re very excited to have the opportunity to be a part of the Formlabs Roadshow,” Moseman told us. “With Solidworks World being the kick-off to the Roadshow we can only imagine how much energy and excitement everyone is going to have to discuss the latest trends in; design, engineering, and manufacturing. There’s so much value in hearing from experts with different specialties and that’s what makes Formlabs great to work with, they’re a passionate team making user-friendly and accessible 3D printers supporting a variety of environments. Cannot wait to learn how everyone attending the Roadshow is innovating in their own way.”

“3D printing is all about focusing in on the workflow,” Diana Verdugo, Formlabs Partnership Lead and Co-Creator of the Roadshow, told 3DPrint.com. “Dissecting it, optimizing it and improving it. It’s most effective when you’re doing this face to face in the company of workflow players, like CAD companies, and the disrupters who identify these workflows. Our goal for the Roadshow is to connect communities together in the name of Digital Design and Manufacturing and bring accessibility to those workflows.”

Tickets to the Roadshow are $5, but if you’d like a complimentary ticket, you can use the code 3DPrint.com to attend for free.

3D Printing of Ophthalmology Medical Devices and Tools May Be Eligible for R&D Tax Credits

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Scientists and doctors have been experimenting with ways to correct vision by way of 3D printing. Additive manufacturing capabilities have proved that 3D printed medical devices can be used in various surgeries of the eye. Businesses, physicians, entrepreneurs and scientists who are involved with 3D printed optometry tools may be eligible for R&D tax credits.

The Research & Development Tax Credit

Enacted in 1981, the now permanent Federal Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit allows a credit that typically ranges from 4%-7% of eligible spending for new and improved products and processes. Qualified research must meet the following four criteria:

Must be technological in nature

Must be a component of the taxpayer’s business

Must represent R&D in the experimental sense and generally includes all such costs related to the development or improvement of a product or process

Must eliminate uncertainty through a process of experimentation that considers one or more alternatives

Eligible costs include US employee wages, cost of supplies consumed in the R&D process, cost of pre-production testing, U.S. contract research expenses, and certain costs associated with developing a patent.

On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed the PATH Act, making the R&D Tax Credit permanent. Beginning in 2016, the R&D credit can be used to offset Alternative Minimum tax for companies with revenue below $50MM and for the first time, pre-profitable and pre-revenue startup businesses can obtain up to $250,000 per year in payroll taxes and cash rebates.

Optical Exams

Telemedicine, the remote diagnosis and treatment of patients by means of telecommunications technology, is a recent field that has the potential to grow in the coming years. For developing nations it can be costly to provide optometry tools to those in need. To alleviate this problem, engineers and technicians are developing 3D printed tools that can be utilized in conjunction with smartphone applications to conduct optical exams. Due to the increase in the availability of smartphones, tele-based services can be used for screening ophthalmic diseases and treating patients with known diseases. There has also been a surge in electronic ophthalmic record keeping, wherein images captured by smartphones can be used to better diagnose eye diseases.

New Zealand-based eye doctor Hong Sheng Chiong developed a 3D printed eye testing tool, a device that is readily available for underdeveloped regions around the world. Typically, in order to verify vision loss, expensive and sometimes bulky equipment is used to detect common eye diseases by utilizing a digital retinal camera to take pictures of the back of the eye. Because the retinal cameras are bulky and cumbersome, Dr. Chiong has created a portable eye examination kit to be used with a smartphone camera and an app. Parts of the kit are 3D printed; there is a small biconvex lens that is used to magnify the images to give up to ten times magnification and once the device is assembled it can be clipped into the side of the phone and then used to see the front of the eye. The retina examination is performed with a retina adapter that is 3D printed as well. The parts consist of lenses, nuts and bolts which once assembled can look into the retina of an individual’s eye. These tools are beneficial for doctors when they are conducting eye exams for those who live in developing countries.

Telemedicine is more than just a research tool – it has evolved into a clinical service. Because smartphones are readily available, applications are able to transfer data electronically to those around the globe. In areas where ophthalmologists are rare, a smartphone with a high definition camera can save patients by taking detailed pictures of the front and back of the eye. These images can be sent via email to have the results analyzed within minutes. This proves to be more efficient in rural communities since early diagnosis through accurate screening in a high risk population is critical to prevent loss of vision.

Prevention of Infant Vision Impairment

Premature infants have a higher chance of hyperoxia, commonly known as retinopathy of prematurity due to loss of maternal-fetal interaction. This can also lead to vision impairment due to the lack of oxygen. Identification of these conditions at an early age will try to control the factors from advancing into their childhood. Premature babies are kept in incubators with supplemental oxygen to prevent blindness and in turn death of the patient. A study conducted in New Zealand reported infants with retinopathy of prematurity to be 33%.

3D Printing in Surgery

One solution for becoming vigilant to common eye diseases in premature infants and diabetic patients is an app and a 3D printed lens that can be used on any smartphone device. Sixteen-year-old student Kavya Kopparapu developed a 3D printed lens which can be attached to a smartphone and used with an app to diagnose the preliminary symptoms for people with diabetic retinopathy. The device can spot diabetic retinopathy with similar accuracy to a human doctor. Basically it works by utilizing a smartphone picture of the blood vessels in the eye. Images are then sent over to hospitals’ labs to determine the current eye condition and to determine the diagnosis for the patient. Eye diagnosis results at the Jyot Eye Hospital in Mumbai, India have proven to be successful as it was used on a few patients and potentially increasing going forward. The application and 3D printed lens are reliable ways to treat people with an eye diagnosis.

Many individuals who experience cloudiness or see a film over their eye should be diagnosed for surgery. For cataracts, there is a medical device that is implanted in the eye once the natural lens is removed during the cataract procedure. This lens is placed securely behind the iris and pupil. The tools used include high quality eye instruments that can easily make small incisions into the eye. These instruments include a lid speculum, suture forceps, tying forceps, scissors and blade handles, to name a few. Many of these devices can be 3D printed. At the mechanical engineering school at Kennesaw State University, in the state of Georgia, engineers have developed an eye speculum that holds the eyelids and lashes out during various ophthalmologic procedures. The mechanism is designed to minimize eye pain when the patient is going through a procedure and allows a surgeon to work on the patient without worrying about holding other tools in their hand at the same time.

Scientists and technologists have created a new device that uses high pressure to move an ultrasound and manipulate and destroy objects at cell level sizes. There is a transducer lens that is created by a 3D printer out of clear liquid resin. This is what surgeons implant into an individual’s eye. Eye surgeons are able to use the 3D printed lens in cataract surgery.

With improvements in technology, most cataract surgeries are conducted with a laser, as the laser is highly accurate in determining the area that needs to be surgically removed. Perhaps one day, manufacturers will be able to 3D print a laser machine used specifically in cataract surgery.

Conclusion

Scientists, engineers and doctors are using 3D printing to assist in the ophthalmic industry. From detecting early signs of vision loss to treating patients in developing nations, 3D printing has been providing new solutions for ophthalmology. Businesses that use devices in corrective eye care may be eligible for R&D Tax Credits.

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Inert & Siemens Team Up to Create New Glovebox for 3D Printing, Welding & Other Production Processes

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For the average layperson, a glovebox is that black hole where we stash the woefully never-to-be-read car manual, and vehicle registration papers that are always hard to find amidst all the other miscellaneous items thrown in often without much thought.

On a much more scientific level though, the glovebox is an important and highly maintained item used in the manufacturing world for enclosing 3D printing and welding production processes. These enclosures are also used in the production of the following:

Semiconductors

Solar cells

LEDs

Lithium ion batteries

A range of medical devices

Pharmaceuticals

Chemicals

The glovebox is often filled with gas such as argon or nitrogen. This allows the atmosphere to remain non-reactive, non-volatile, and inert. Operators within the manufacturing process are usually responsible for filling, monitoring, and purging the gas. There are four downfalls to these manual procedures though:

Substantial fluctuations can occur while low volume lots are being processed or tools are being changed.

The operators must be highly trained regarding safety, leading to concerns if someone else is operating the process on an off day.

Argon and nitrogen can be expensive.

Logs notated on a computer or by hand are much less effective than digitized processes which can log data by the second.

In response to the need to replace manual processes with digital, Inert and Siemens have partnered to create the PureLab HE 4GB 2500 glovebox system. It is already in use at universities and labs performing assembly, welding, 3D printing, and more. The PureLab glovebox measures 10 x 6 x 3.5 ft, with an interior work area of 8 x 3 x 2.5 ft. It is made out of steel and can handle 550 pounds on each of its four or six casters. Not only that, the system is modular so that researchers and manufacturers can add on to it easily, as needed.

Inert also included the SIMATIC S7-1200 programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and SIMATIC human-machine interface (HMI) color panels in this glovebox, allowing for precise regulation of temperature and airflow. All systems can be managed from one interface, and are customized regarding language and protocol for specific users. Remote access is available as well.

“As device and system designers and manufacturers around the world are being pushed by mil/aero OEMs to assist them in meeting their commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS), and Size, Weight, Power and Cost (SWaP-C) objectives (while still meeting their stringent quality standards such as defined by AS9100)―as well as by medical OEMs to meet the revised regulatory standards of ISO 13485:2016―so too are their facilities and assembly lines advancing,” states Inert in a recent press release.

“While clean room technology is ever-present, an often-overlooked solution to various manufacturing challenges is the micro-environment commonly referred to as ‘the glovebox.’ With today’s levels of hermetic achievement and digital control, they’re now at the forefront of things to watch evolve in tomorrow’s advanced manufacturing centers.”

are using X-rays to study the process and try to understand where flaws in metal 3D printed parts come from, and how those flaws can be prevented.

“With 3-D printing, you can make parts with very complex geometries that are not accessible for casting like regular metal parts,” said SLAC staff scientist Johanna Nelson Weker, who is leading the project. “Theoretically, it can be a quick turnaround – simply design, send, print from a remote location. But we’re not there yet. We still need to figure out all of the parameters involved in making solid, strong parts.”

In industries such as aerospace and automotive, parts need to be perfect – any imperfection can lead to a dangerous situation. That’s why each part, along with the 3D printers that make the parts, need to be put through rigorous

before they can be accepted for use. But if we could better understand the metal 3D printing process and ensure that flawless parts were reliably coming out of the printers, less testing would be needed, bringing the cost of metal 3D printing down.

[Image: SLAC]

One common flaw in metal 3D printed parts is the formation of pits, or weak spots. Pits are caused when the metal cools and hardens unevenly, and the scientists are currently trying to figure out how to prevent that from happening. They’re analyzing every part of the process, including the type of metal, the level of heat from the laser, and the speed at which the metal heats and cools, to find the best combination for eliminating pits and controlling the microstructure.

“We are providing the fundamental physics research that will help us identify which aspects of metal 3-D printing are important,” said Chris Tassone, a staff scientist in SSRL’s Materials Science Division.

Observing a part while it’s being 3D printed isn’t enough to see how deeply the laser is melting the layers of metal powder. The researchers tried imaging the layers with thermal radiation, but that didn’t give them enough information to tell what was causing the weak spots. X-rays turned out to be the perfect answer, letting the scientists see inside the layers as they’re being printed. They’re currently using two different types of X-ray methods. One creates micron-resolution images of the layers as they build up; the other bounces X-rays off the atoms in the powder to analyze its atomic structure as it changes from solid to liquid and back during melting and cooling.

The scientists also plan to study directed energy deposition processes, and they want to add a high-speed camera so that they can collect photographs and video and correlate what they see with their X-ray data. This is valuable for manufacturers and researchers who use cameras to observe the 3D printing process but don’t have access to an X-ray synchrotron.

“We want people to be able to connect what they see on their cameras with what we are measuring here so they can infer what’s happening below the surface of the growing metal material,” said Nelson Weker. “We want to put meaning to those signatures.”

VIDEO

Other researchers working on the project include Kevin Stone, Anthony Fong, Andrew Kiss and Vivek Thampy. The research was funded by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office.

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Whenever I hear the term shape-shifting, I always picture some scary creature from a horror movie that’s able to change its form instantly to capture victims and is *probably* not real. But in reality, 3D printed shape-shifting structures can be used to make better bone implants, expandable robots that can switch from hard to soft, and even pasta that morphs into shapes when cooked and can free up packaging space. Engineers from Rutgers University-New Brunswick have created a 4D printing method for a shape-shifting smart gel that could one day be used to develop soft robots and targeted drug delivery.

When 3D printed objects can move and change shape of their own volition, this technically makes them 4D printed.

The abstract reads, “Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), a temperature responsive hydrogel, has been extensively studied in various fields of science and engineering. However, manufacturing of PNIPAAm has been heavily relying on conventional methods such as molding and lithography techniques that are inherently limited to a two-dimensional (2D) space. Here we report the three-dimensional (3D) printing of PNIPAAm using a high-resolution digital additive manufacturing technique, projection micro-stereolithography (PμSL). Control of the temperature dependent deformation of 3D printed PNIPAAm is achieved by controlling manufacturing process parameters as well as polymer resin composition. Also demonstrated is a sequential deformation of a 3D printed PNIPAAm structure by selective incorporation of ionic monomer that shifts the swelling transition temperature of PNIPAAm.”

VIDEO

The study shows the team’s scalable method of fast, high-resolution hydrogel 3D printing. Researchers have long been interested in stimuli-responsive hydrogels that exhibit chemical or physical changes in response to environmental conditions, and as you can see in the above video, the materials, which contain water, stay solid and hold their shape, even while shape-shifting.

Lee said, “If you have full control of the shape, then you can program its function. I think that’s the power of 3D printing of shape-shifting material. You can apply this principle almost everywhere.”

In the study, the team used temperature-responsive PNIPAAm hydrogel, which has been used for decades in motion-generating devices and biomedical applications like scaffolds.

While hydrogels are most often manufactured using traditional 2D methods like molding, the Rutgers engineers used an inexpensive lithography-based technique, called projection microstereolithography (PμSL), that can quickly print a range of materials into 3D shapes out of a resin made up of the PNIPAAm hydrogel, a dye that controls light penetration, a binding chemical, and a chemical that facilitates bonding when it’s exposed to light.

The research team learned how to use hot and cold temperatures to control the hydrogel’s shrinkage and growth. When temperatures exceed 32°C, the material expels water and shrinks, but when the temperature drops below this, it absorbs water and expands.

“The full potential of this smart hydrogel has not been unleashed until now. We added another dimension to it, and this is the first time anybody has done it on this scale,” Lee said. “They’re flexible, shape-morphing materials. I like to call them smart materials.”

3D printing of temperature responsive hydrogel using PμSL.

At their smallest, the 4D printed hydrogel objects the researchers created are the width of a human hair, but can measure up to several millimeters in length. In addition, the team also discovered that by changing temperatures, they can grow just one area of a 3D printed object.

Their 4D printed smart hydrogel could be used in many applications, such as soft robotics, tissue engineering, flexible actuators and sensors, and biomedical devices. It could even offer structural rigidity in human organs, like the lungs, and scientists could insert small molecules, like drugs or water, into the material, which could transported within the human body and released at the proper point.

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Students at Robertsville Middle School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee design CubeSats as part of an elective course. [Image: NASA/Oak Ridge City Schools]

In 2016, wildfires devastated part of the state of Tennessee, around Gatlinburg. More than a dozen people were killed, and many more were injured, while thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed. In addition to the human toll, many trees were lost from the state’s forests. Now a group of students wants to monitor those forests’ regrowth – from outer space.

Todd Livesay’s class at Robertsville Middle School is waiting to hear back from NASA to see if their proposal has been accepted to the CubeSat Launch Initiative. The students want to build a CubeSat and launch it into orbit, where it will gather data from the growing forest and send it back to a ground station located near the school. They’re hoping to find out in February if NASA will accept the CubeSat as part of its payload to the International Space Station.

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center has formed a collaboration with the Oak Ridge City School System. Marshall staff members assisted in developing curriculum that incorporated unique NASA resources, then trained teachers to use those resources for a new elective class called NASA Project-Based Learning. Engineers from Marshall also act as mentors to students in the course. Many schools only have this type of material available in an extracurricular setting, if at all.

“We sought to invest in our community and influence middle school students by exposing them to exciting STEM careers at NASA,” said Patrick Hull, technical assistant for the Structural and Mechanical Design Branch of the Engineering Directorate at Marshall. “To have had an opportunity in junior high to work with a group of engineers from NASA would have been very motivating to me.”

Robertsville Middle School students visit Marshall to present their CubeSat project. [Image: NASA/Oak Ridge City Schools]

Hull worked with Livesay to develop the CubeSat project. Once the satellite was completed, the students, who had access to multiple 3D printers to fabricate the CubeSat, presented it at Marshall to Hull and other engineers. If NASA agrees to launch the satellite into space, however, they will build a new one, and they’ll have plenty of time – two years – to perfect it for space travel.

“The value of skills learned by our students in this program spans more than just STEM disciplines,” said Holly Cross, career and technical education supervisor for the Oak Ridge City School System. “The mentors from NASA encouraged our students to talk about their project in a conversational manner rather than memorizing for a presentation. Our English teachers have commented on how their presentation skills have developed and matured as a result of their interaction with the NASA engineers.”

[Image: Local 8]

The invention of the CubeSat has made it possible for anyone to build a satellite, and it’s become a way for

, working with NASA in hopes of launching. The small cube satellites are easy to make, especially when using 3D printing, and they carry lessons that go far beyond their small size. The students at Robertsville Middle School learned how to build a functioning satellite, how to work with 3D printing, and, if their project is accepted, they’ll learn not only about launching a satellite into space but about how to monitor a forest as it recovers from a fire.

Several of the students in the class say they want to work in science and engineering, and even work for NASA, someday, and Livesay hopes that regardless of their career aspirations, they’re learning skills that will be valuable to them throughout their lives.

“I hope that they’re learning to not be afraid to try,” he said. “To just give it your best shot. To show up. And to try every day and make progress.”

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There is no doubt that 3D printing will impact the design and production of buildings, whether residential or commercial. Efforts are underway to understand how traditional building materials, techniques, and aesthetics can be impacted through the introduction of 3D printing. The question that remains, once we determine what the possibilities are, is whether or not the fact that 3D printing can be used necessarily means that 3D printing should be used.

3D printed walls being lifted into place

Currently, the integration of 3D printing into design and construction is in an exploratory phase. Components for construction are being developed that are fabricated using 3D printers and the limitations on printing at the scale needed to create walls are constantly being pushed farther and farther. However, just as the ability to 3D print cells has not led to the creation of fully functioning organs, neither has the ability to fabricate construction components led to the creation at one go of fully functioning 3D printed buildings. It is simply not possible, at this point in time, to 3D print a complete building.

That doesn’t mean that it won’t be a possibility in the future and Nikita Cheniuntai, the founder and CEO of Apis Cor, is optimistic that this ability will come about. While recognizing that there are a number of challenges to be overcome before 3D printing housing is possible – though last year Apis Cor 3D printed a small house in 24 hours – Cheniuntai has determined that it is a worthwhile goal, as he explained:

“Perspectives and possible solutions are beautiful things that compel us to move forward. But we have a lot of work to do today. For this technology to become popular and to actively conquer the market, we need to solve many problems…We are now actively engaged in this task and have the following objectives: By the end of 2019, provide a solution for printing entire houses – foundations, slabs, and roofs. In 2018, develop a solution for using 3D printing in high-rise construction, and also increase the degree of automation to the maximum, making the equipment almost self-contained.”

The question that arises then is this: is it always in our best interests to substitute technology for humans? There are moments where the answer seems fairly clear, such as the possibility to send in drones to search for explosives or survivors in buildings on the edge of collapse, or when extracting minerals from deep underground, or trying to understand what the surface of Venus is like. There is a fascination with the mechanization of all aspects of society, even when undertaken as part of a genuine concern for the safety and security of our fellow humans, which can have some fairly negative consequences.

The enthusiasm for 3D printing is no different than our worship of other technologies. Yes, it is possible to replace the checkout person with a machine, but is that Good? It depends on whom you ask. It’s probably good for the corporate bottom line. Is it Good for the person whose job is gone? Is it Good for the people who go to the store, for whom this might be one of the few human interactions they have during their day? Is it Good for a culture to remove opportunities for strangers to interact with each other? Is it Good for the customer who suddenly finds their labor being appropriated for the benefit of the CEO and shareholders, now having to pay the same and do work for free?

If the goal is to be able to achieve things in construction that human beings cannot through their labor or to protect humans from unreasonable danger, then it is easier to understand the benefits of 3D printing in construction. If it will be possible to provide low cost housing that will help address the shortage of available options for people who are economically disadvantaged as a result of 3D printing in construction, then it is easier to understand the benefits. There are a myriad of ways in which 3D printing in construction could provide enormous benefits.

If, however, it is simply to replace human workers with machines, the issue is stickier. Employment is important, not only for economic reasons but also as a way of generating a feeling of self worth. Replacing people with machines simply because we can, and largely because it benefits the wealthiest, is not in our interests in the long run. The idea that construction is a job that people should be relieved of through mechanization is an elitist approach and should be carefully considered.

I’m not suggesting that I have the answer to this question figured out, but what I am suggesting is that there needs to exist a discourse of ethics that allows us to wrestle with the issues that are raised through technology and that is robust enough to handle disagreement without resorting to trite characterizations of Luddites versus Fahrenheit 451. Untempered enthusiasm for shutting humans out is no better than shuttering oneself in a cabin the woods and living off leaves and berries. Apis Cor has an economic stake in advancing the use of 3D printing in construction; the rest of us have a stake in determining whether or not just because something can be done, it should be.

What do you think of this news? Let us know your thoughts; join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com.